What’s art? What does it mean to live as an artist? And what makes great art? These are some of the questions Rick Rubin tackles in his book. Below are my highlights:

To live as an artist is a way of being in the world. A way of perceiving. A practice of paying attention.

The act of creation is an attempt to enter a mysterious realm. A longing to transcend. What we create allows us to share glimpses of an inner landscape, one that is beyond our understanding. Art is our portal to the unseen world.

Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you’re not…The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.

Patience is required for the nuanced development of your craft.

Art is choosing to do something skillfully, caring about the details, bringing all of yourself to make the finest work you can. It is beyond ego, vanity, self-glorification, and need for approval.

Most human beings like to fit in. We adapt not only to the evolving flow of material coming through us, but the boundaries and templates of the culture around us. Can great art come from conformity? And what is the purpose of being an artist if we deny our unique personal point of view? Those of us choosing to live as artists embrace our filter as a gift.

This is the essence of great art. We make it for no other purpose than creating our version of the beautiful, bringing all of ourself to every project, whatever its parameters and constraints. Consider it an offering, a devotional act. We do the best, as we see the best–with our own taste. No one else’s. We create our art so we may inhabit it ourselves.

If we can tune it to the idea of making things and sharing them without being attached to the outcome, the work is more likely to arrive in its truest form.

No system exists that can rank which work is most reflective of the maker. Great art is an invitation, calling to creators everywhere to strive for still higher and deeper levels.

Think of self-competition as a quest for evolution. The object is not to beat our other work. It’s to move things forward and create a sense of progression. Growth over superiority.

In this spirit of self-competition, task yourself to go further and push into the unexpected. Don’t stop even at greatness. Venture beyond.

Our purpose is to value and develop our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

To be self-aware is to have the ability to tune in to what we think, how we feel, and how much we feel it without interference. To notice how we notice the outside world.

What ultimately makes a work great is the sum total of the tiniest details. From start to finish, everything has shades and degrees. There is no fixed scale. There can’t be, because sometimes the smallest elements are the ones that weigh the most.

Your path is unique, for only you to follow. There is no single route to great art. This doesn’t mean ignore the wisdom of others. Receive wisdom skillfully. Try it on for size and see how it fits. Incorporate what’s useful. Let go of the rest. And no matter how credible the source, test and tune in to yourself to discover what works for you.

The only practice that matters is the one you consistently do, not the practice of any other artist.

The best work is the work you are excited about.

A work of art is not an end in itself. It’s a station on a journey. A chapter in our lives. We acknowledge these transitions by documenting each of them.

The reasons we’re alive is to express ourselves in the world. And creating art may be the most effective and beautiful method of doing so. Art goes beyond language, beyond lives. It’s a universal way to send messages between each other and through time.